JCEP PILD Registration Now Open - March 15 deadline

Registration Now Open for the 2026 JCEP

Public Issues Leadership Development Conference

 

https://www.jcep.org/pild

Join your Extension colleagues from around the nation, for an impactful experience in our nation’s inspiring capital, Washington DC, at the 2026 Public Issues Leadership Development Conference (PILD), April 20 to 22, 2026.

This year’s conference will be held at the beautiful Hyatt Regency Bethesda just a few metro stops from some of the most awe-inspiring historical places in our nation’s history.

Not just a conference, PILD has opportunities for you to:

• Hear from Extension administrators from across the nation

• Connect with representatives of our federal funding partner, USDA-NIFA

• Meet leaders from APLU, the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, and ECOP, the Extension Committee on Organization and Policy

• Join fellow conference attendees for a tour some of our nation’s most iconic monuments and memorials, as part of our pre-conference educational experience

• Visit the office of your Senator or Representative on Capitol Hill (check with your state leadership for guidance on Hill visits)

Don’t miss out on this unique educational opportunity! Registration is limited, and this tour is truly not to be missed. A comfy motor coach will take you around DC, visiting all the key monuments and memorials. You’ll have the opportunity to get off the bus and walk around at most of the monuments, seeing them up close and personal, and there will even be a professional tour guide on board to give you the history and importance of each site! This experience is listed as one of the key highlights of most past conference attendees, but participation is limited, so tell your friends to join you, and don’t delay your registration.

A detailed agenda for this educational tour will be available on the conference website soon, for use in your travel justification.

Registration Details: 

• Don’t miss the early bird rate! (until March 15): $515

• Not-to-be-missed preconference educational tour (additional registration): $75

• Late registration (March 16 and later):  $615 conference, $85 preconference tour

Space is limited, so register for the conference and the educational tour today at https://www.jcep.org/pild to secure your spot at this premier Extension leadership event! 

For questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the 2026 Conference Planning Chair, Travis West, by email at west.222@osu.edu 

JOURNAL OF EXTENSION UPDATE

 

Forwarded on behalf of Jamie Rae Walker, 2025 EJI President:

Dear Journal of Extension Partners,

Thank you for being a valuable supporter of Extension Journal, Inc. (EJI) and the Journal of Extension (JOE). Your institution’s support—along with the dedication of our many volunteers—makes it possible to produce the high-quality, peer-reviewed journal that serves the Extension community so well.

We appreciate Clemson University Press' critical support in guiding us through the important evolution of JOE over the last five years. However, the EJI Board has made the strategic decision to transition JOE to its own publishing repository on the Digital Commons platform (formerly Bepress). While Clemson has hosted the journal on this platform, we realize that we’ve outgrown the Press’s ability to meet our current needs. Moving to our own repository will give EJI direct control and flexibility in how JOE is managed and delivered.

This transition will allow us to:

• be more responsive to the needs of authors and readers, providing timely feedback and support;

• expand the range of publishing services offered, including the potential to host additional journals; and

• enhance scholarly activity by providing new media formats, including video, audio, and interactive content.

We expect the transition to be seamless for readers and contributors. Volume 63, Issue 4, will be published by Clemson University Press in mid-November. In parallel, we are working with Digital Commons to migrate JOE to its new home, with the process scheduled for completion by January 2026. We will share updated details as the migration progresses.

EJI will release a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the ongoing management of the platform. We invite and encourage your institution to consider submitting a proposal for this critical opportunity to help shape the future of JOE.  In the meantime, please share this letter with your faculty, staff, and other stakeholders who are authors and reviewers for JOE.  

Thank you for your continued support. Your annual subscription is essential to The Journal of Extension remaining an open-access journal and allowing your authors to submit without any additional fees or costs for authors or readers. Let’s continue to work together to bring attention to Extension scholarship.

Please feel free to contact me at urbanparks@ag.tamu.edu with any questions or concerns.

Thank you again for your continued support,

Jamie Rae Walker & the Journal of Extension Board of Directors

Registration Now Open for JCEP ELC 2026

Important Registration information:

Registration Links can be found here:  JCEP - ELC

Registration for JCEP 2026 ELC *

• Early Bird registration until January 9^th (Midnight EST) is $515

• Late free of $100 will be added on January 10^th and later

Pre-Conference Tour: Squares, Stories, & Sips – The True Savannah Experience

• Early Bird registration until January 9^th (Midnight EST) is $40

• Late fee of $10 will be added on January 10^th and later

 

In addition, the Extension Foundation is offering a Pre-Conference Educational Workshop entitled "Crucial Influence". 

 

The course reveals the personal, social, and structural sources that shape behavior and teaches a method for using these sources to influence people and results.

 

Registration for this event can also be found on the JCEP-ELC website with a separate registration link.

 

Register in advance for these meetings:

November 19, 2025 - Current State of the U.S. Crop Insurance Industry

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/Q20hbpR0ROenF4WJWxaJ8A

This session is planned to last 1 hour or less.  We look forward to your participation!

NACAA 365 Webinar - Got questions? We have answers!

 

Register in advance for these meetings:

April 30, 2025 - Got Questions?  We have answers!

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/sAkUi3udS3qx9UAenuQ5Lg

This session is planned to last 1 hour or less.  We look forward to your participation!

NACAA 365 - April 23, 2025 - Farm Bill Update from Ag Issues Committee

 

Register in advance for these meetings:

April 23, 2025 - Farm Bill Update from Ag Issues Committee

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/UTQShTGnSOK0lHWppRuXsQ

This session is planned to last 1 hour or less.  We look forward to your participation!

JCEP Excellence in Extension Engagement Award

The Joint Council of Extension Professionals (JCEP) “Excellence in Extension Engagement Award” nomination period is open at www.jcep.org/awards through May 31, 2025.

What isthe Excellence in Extension Engagement Award?

Thisaward recognizes high quality, evidence-based Extension work that has documented outstanding outcomes and impacts with clientele and strengthens the Extension profession. The selection committee considers individual or team applicants that documents an engagement program that is: local needs driven, grounded in scholarly practice, adequately evaluated, adopted beyond the initial audience or geographic region, strengthening professionals within or across states, and demonstrating innovation that brings something new to Extension professionals. Applicants must have an extension appointment and belong to a JCEP organization.

Full details may be found at: www.jcep.org/awards. Applications are due by 11:59 p.m., submitter’s time, May 31, 2025.

First place receives a $750 award. The winner will be an invited speaker at the Extension Leadership Conference in Savannah, Georgia, February 4-5, 2026 (ELC registration waived).

Honorable mention receives: $250 award and ELC registration waived. Honorable mention awardees may be invited to speak at ELC at the planning committee’s discretion.

The 2025 winning team included Dr. Jennifer Aranda, Isabel Huot-Link, Ellen Wolter, Tobias Spanier, Tim Young Chol Choi, Dr. Scott Chazdon, and Victoria McWane-Creek with The Welcoming and Inclusive Communities Program. A synopsis of their program is provided at the awards webpage.